Adjustable holster to secure an instrument

ABSTRACT

A device holster may be adjustable to accommodate different sized devices, such as guns, weapons, tools, etc. One example configuration may include a front cover that includes a number of engaging snap portions, and a rear cover with a number of receiving snap portions that engage the engaging snap portions, and each of the receiving snap portions also has a screw and a receiving nut that is adjustable to increase or decrease a retention and a corresponding distance between the front cover and the rear cover.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE APPLICATION

This application relates to a holster for securing a firearm or other object to a user's body, and more particularly, to a holster that can be adjusted to accommodate different sized instruments and/or firearms and which may include a front portion and a rear portion that are removable from one another.

BACKGROUND OF THE APPLICATION

Conventionally, holsters worn by users of such instruments (i.e., weapons, guns, tools, etc.) are large, bulky and generally fitted to an exact size. The user must purchase a particular holster to fit a particular weapon, which is then worn by that user. In the event that the user desires to wear a different weapon, such as a bigger or smaller gun with a bigger or smaller barrel width, barrel depth, barrel length, handle width, handle depth and/or handle length, then the user must purchase a new holster for that differently sized gun.

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION

One embodiment of the present application may include an apparatus that provides a front cover with a plurality of engaging snap portions, and a rear cover that includes a plurality of receiving snap portions configured to engage the plurality of engaging snap portions, and each of the receiving snap portions comprises a screw and a receiving nut that is adjustable to increase or decrease a retention and a corresponding distance between the front cover and the rear cover.

Another example embodiment includes an apparatus with a front cover with a molded surface area that provides a cavity shaped as a hand gun barrel and a hand gun trigger housing, and a rear cover with a plurality of receiving snap portions affixed to the front cover which together provide a housing for a hand gun, and each of the receiving snap portions has a screw and a receiving nut that is adjustable to increase or decrease a retention and a corresponding distance between the front cover and the rear cover.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example exploded view of a screw and snap configuration according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example front view of a holster according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example embodiment of a screw and snap configuration according to example embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example front view of another holster configuration according to other example embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example exploded view of a snap configuration without spacers and without retention adjustment according to example embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example front view of a holster configuration according to example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION

It will be readily understood that the components of the present application, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of an apparatus, and system configuration, as represented in the attached figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the application as claimed, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application.

The features, structures, or characteristics of the application described throughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “example embodiments”, “some embodiments”, or other similar language, throughout this specification refers to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Thus, appearances of the phrases “example embodiments”, “in some embodiments”, “in other embodiments”, or other similar language, throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example exploded view 100 of a screw and snap configuration according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1, the exploded view of parts illustrates the various portions of the screw, nut and snap configuration used to secure the removable holster cover or “front” holster cover from the “rear” holster portion or body. The front holster cover material is identified from the layer 114 of material which may be different from the material used in the rear holster cover 124. In FIG. 2, the front holster cover 214 and the rear holster cover 212 are illustrated in further detail.

The configuration of the locking and securing mechanism of FIG. 1 provides a cap 112 for the top portion of the snap body, a plastic shell or other similar material 114 as part of the body of the front holster cover portion (see also 214 of FIG. 2) which is set between the top of the snap 112 and the socket for the snap 116. The top portion of the snap including the cap 112, the plastic shell 114 and the socket for the snap 116 would generally be a fixed tightly arranged three-part configuration that is affixed to the front holster cover 214 of FIG. 2 to form a first portion of a snap to be received by a second portion or receiving portion of a snap affixed to the holster rear cover 212. As may be observed from FIG. 2, there are four top portion snaps 232, 233, 234 and 235 which may be based on the configuration of the snap components 112 and 116 affixed on opposite sides of the front holster cover material.

In FIG. 1 on the receiving end of the snap body, a screw 118 is securely fastened through the center of the snap stud 120 and through the rubber spacer 122 which is laid on top of the material of the rear holster cover 124, which may be leather, plastic or a different material. A “T”-nut 126 is used to secure the nut to the material of the rear holster cover 124. This configuration of FIG. 1 provides a snap-in configuration that secures the front holster cover 214 to the rear holster cover 212. The number of snaps illustrated in FIG. 2 is 4, however, the number of snaps may be 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or any number in-between. Also, other fastening mechanisms, such as VELCRO®, magnets, screws, pin fasteners, locking mechanisms may be used as well to secure the front cover/portion to the rear cover/portion.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example front view of a holster according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 2, the holster configuration 200 includes a plurality of top or engaging snap portions 232-235 and a corresponding plurality of receiving snap portions 222, 223 and 224. A fourth receiving snap portion is hidden behind the cover and is not shown in this illustration. The arrows 250 indicate the direction the front holster portion/cover 214 will move to be affixed with the rear holster portion 212.

Other portions of the holster include another set of receiving snaps 216, 217, 218 and 219 that are affixed to the rear holster portion 212 to receive a belt clip or other belt fastening peripheral 220 that may be snapped into a position near the bottom of the rear holster portion 212 to provide a loop for a belt to be inserted to support the holster 200 against the body of a person. A bottom portion 215 of the rear holster portion 212 includes an elongated lip or portion of material that correlates to the elongated portion 255 of the front holster portion 214 so the barrel of a gun may rest against the elongated lip portion 215 which provides comfort to the person wearing the holster and which reduces the amount of material required to construct the holster and also provides increased flexibility for the person wearing the holster. Similarly, the top portion of the rear holster portion 212 may have an elongated lip or tab 213 at a substantially center portion of the top edge of rear holster portion 212 that extends beyond the generally straight surface of the top edge of the rear holster portion 212. The elongated lip or tab 213 at the top portion of the rear holster portion may be longer than the length of the lip 215 since the handle of the gun is pointing outward from the holster while the barrel of the gun is almost entirely or entirely covered by the front and rear holster portions. Therefore, the lip 215 at the bottom portion of the rear holster portion 212 may be approximately 20-80% shorter than the elongated tab 213 at the top portion of the rear holster portion 212. A main surface area of the back cover 212 may include a substantially rectangular portion excluding the elongated tab 213 and the elongated lip 215. A main surface area of the front cover 214 may be a substantially rectangular surface area that includes the various snap portions, but which excludes the barrel formed protrusion 255 and the trigger housing protrusion 257 portion which extend beyond the main portion of the front cover 214.

According to one example embodiment, the rear holster portion 212 is significantly larger in surface area than the surface area of the “front cover” or front holster portion 214. For example, the rear holster portion 212 may be approximately 100% to 400% larger in surface area than the planar surface area of the front cover 214. The front cover portion 214 may also be made of a different material than the rear portion 212. The front cover 214 may have multiple molded protrusions that extend beyond the surface area of the main cover portion 214. For example, the barrel portion 255 may be one molded protrusion and the trigger and/or trigger housing portion 257 may be another molded protrusion extending beyond the planar surface area of the front cover 214. This configuration permits the gun to be inserted into a voluminous area defined by the protrusions 255 and 257 which protrude away from the flat planar surface area which includes the engaging snaps 232-235 of the main area of the front cover 214. Also, the molded protrusion 255 may extend beyond a main surface area of the front cover 214 by approximately 1-2 inches to cover the voluminous channel consumed by a gun barrel placed in the holster 200. According to another example embodiment, the rear cover may be approximately the same size and have the same surface area as the front cover. Also, the front cover may be larger than the rear cover.

In one example embodiment, the front cover portion 214 may be made of a form-fitted plastic that is specifically designed to accommodate a particular caliber or gauge size of a handheld gun or “hand gun”. In this example, the snaps may be positioned in the same general locations on different front cover portions that are wider, deeper, longer, etc. This configuration provides a common snap receiving array as indicated by the receiving snap portions 222, 223 and 224 that may be used for differently sized front covers which engage the receiving snap portions 222, 223 and 224 with engaging snap portions 232, 233, 234 and 235.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example embodiment according to example embodiments. The exploded view of a two-button snap configuration 300 is provided. Referring to FIG. 3, the exploded view of parts illustrates the various portions of the screw, nut and snap configuration used to secure the removable holster cover or “front” holster cover from the “rear” holster body. The front holster cover material is identified from the layer 317 of material which may be different from the material used in the rear holster cover 324. In FIG. 4, the front holster cover 414 and the rear holster cover 412 are identified in further detail.

The configuration of the locking and securing mechanism of FIG. 3 provides a cap 312 for the top portion of the snap body. A plastic snap holder 315 is disposed between the top snap portions 312 and the snap cavity 316. Under the top snap configuration 312/315/316, a plastic shell, leather or other similar material 317 is part of the body of the front holster cover portion (see 414 of FIG. 4) which is set beneath the socket for the snap 316. The holes in the front cover material may be pre-drilled, removable and/or identified by a predetermined marking so a user can easily remove them if necessary.

The top portion of the snap including the cap 312, the snap holder 315 and the socket or body for the snap 316 would generally be a fixed tightly arranged three-part configuration that is affixed to the front holster cover 414 of FIG. 4 to form first portions of snaps (i.e., two snaps) to be received by a second set of receiving snaps. The material 317 may provide a fixed distance that maintains a space between the two snap tops and may provide a certain amount of depth that offers the screw 318 an opportunity to adjust the retention and increase or decrease the gap between front cover and rear cover. As may be observed from FIG. 4, there are four top portion snaps 432, 433, 434 and 435 which may be based on the configuration of the snap components 312 and 316 affixed on opposite sides of the snap holder material.

In FIG. 3, on the receiving end of the snap body a screw 318 is securely fastened through the center of the snap stud 320 and through the rubber spacer 322 which is laid on top of the material of the rear holster cover 324, which may be leather, plastic or a different material. A threaded “T”-nut 326 is used to secure the nut to the material of the rear holster cover 324. This configuration of FIG. 3 provides a snap-in configuration that secures the front holster cover 414 to the rear holster cover 412 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The number of snaps illustrated in FIG. 4 is 4, however, the number of snaps may be 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or any number in-between. Also, other fastening mechanisms, such as VELCRO®, magnets, screws, pin fasteners, locking mechanisms, etc. may also be used to secure the front cover/portion to the rear cover/portion.

In the configuration 300 of FIG. 3, the body of the front cover 317 may have holes already set into the front cover material allowing the buttons and screw to be adjusted to increase or decrease the distance between the front cover and the rear cover. This configuration allows a user to customize a fit or sizing option for different guns and/or for wear and tear that ensues which may cause the materials to stretch and become loose. The screw 318 may be rotated and adjusted to increase or decrease the distance between the front cover and the rear cover. The threaded t-nut 326 may engage the screw 318 to allow the distance to increase or decrease.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example front view of a holster according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 4, the holster configuration 400 includes a plurality of top snap portions 432-435 and a corresponding plurality of receiving snap portions hidden behind the top snap cover. Other portions of the holster include a set of receiving snaps (not shown) that are affixed to the rear holster portion 412 to receive a belt clip 420 or other belt fastening peripheral that may be snapped into a position near the top of the rear holster portion 412 to provide a loop for a belt to be inserted to support the holster 400 against the body of a person. A bottom portion 415 of the rear holster portion 412 includes an elongated tab or lip portion of material that correlates to the elongated portion 455 of the front holster portion 414 so the barrel of a gun may rest against the elongated lip 415 which provides comfort to the person wearing the holster and which reduces the amount of material required to construct the holster and also provides increased flexibility for the person wearing the holster. Similarly, the top portion of the rear holster portion 412 may have an elongated tab 413 at a substantially center portion of the top edge of the rear holster portion 412 that extends beyond the generally straight surface of the top edge of the rear holster portion 412. The elongated tab 413 at the top portion of the holster may be longer than the length of the elongated lip 415 since the barrel of the gun facing downward is covered almost entirely or entirely instead of the gun handle which is set be raised out of the holster and may contact the user's body near the low of the user's back (i.e., kidney region) and cause discomfort. The elongated lip 415 at the bottom portion of the rear holster portion 412 may be approximately 20-80% shorter than the elongated tab at the top portion of the rear holster portion 412. A main surface area of the back cover 412 may be a substantially rectangular portion of the back cover excluding the elongated lip 415 and the elongated tab 413. A main surface area of the front cover 414 may be a substantially rectangular surface area that includes the various snap portions, but which excludes the barrel formed protrusion 455 and the trigger housing protrusion 457 portions extended beyond the main portion of the front cover 414.

According to one example embodiment, the rear holster portion 412 is significantly larger in area than the area of the front cover or front holster portion 414. For example, the rear holster portion 412 may be approximately 100% to 400% larger in surface area than the planar surface area of the front cover portion 414. The front cover portion 414 may also be made of a different material than the rear portion 412. The front cover 414 may have multiple molded protrusions that extends beyond the surface area of the main cover portion 414. For example, the barrel portion 455 may be one molded protrusion and the trigger and/or trigger housing portion 457 may be another molded protrusion extending beyond the planar surface area of the front cover 414. This configuration permits the gun to be inserted into a voluminous area defined by the protrusions 455 and 457 which protrude away from the flat planar surface of the main area of the front cover 414. Also, the molded protrusion 455 may extend beyond a main surface area of the front cover 414 by approximately 1-2 inches to cover the voluminous channel consumed by a gun barrel placed in the holster.

In one example embodiment, the front cover portion 414 may be made of a form-fitted plastic that is specifically designed to accommodate a particular caliber or gauge size of a handheld gun. In this example, the snaps may be positioned in the same general locations on different front cover portions that are wider, deeper, longer, etc. This configuration provides a common snap receiving array as indicated by the snap portions that may be used for differently sized front covers which engage the receiving snap portions with engaging snap portions 232, 233, 234 and 235.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example exploded view of a snap configuration without spacers and without retention adjustment according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 5, the top of the snap 512 is set above the front cover material 515 and fitted to the bottom half of the top snap portion 516. In the rear snap or receiving snap portion, the top half of the bottom snap 520 is set above the leather material of the rear cover 524 and fitted to the bottom half of the bottom snap 526. The snap configuration 500 does not include retention, screws, spacers or other retention adjustment options.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example front view of a holster configuration according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 6, back cover 612 is illustrated as having a larger piece of leather than the material of the front cover 614 which is shown to be smaller and may be made of a plastic material that provides a form-fit for the gun. The engaging snap portions 632, 633, 634 and 635 may be placed over a corresponding set of receiving snaps, however, for purposes of this illustration only two receiving snaps 623 and 624 are visible. The arrows 650 indicate the direction of the snaps as the front cover 614 is moved towards the back cover 612.

It will be readily understood that the components of the application, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the detailed description of the embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the application as claimed, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application.

Therefore, although the application has been described based upon these preferred embodiments, it would be apparent to those of skill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions would be apparent, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the application. In order to determine the metes and bounds of the application, therefore, reference should be made to the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a front cover comprising a plurality of engaging snap portions; and a rear cover comprising a plurality of receiving snap portions configured to engage the plurality of engaging snap portions, and wherein each of the receiving snap portions comprises a screw and a receiving nut that is adjustable to increase or decrease a retention and a corresponding distance between the front cover and the rear cover.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rear cover comprises a larger surface area than the front cover.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the front cover comprises a molded surface area that provides a cavity for instrument insertion.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the front cover is a different material than the rear cover.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the front cover material is a plastic and the rear cover material is an animal hide leather.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the plastic is form-fitted and rigid.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the plastic is form-fitted and flexible.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the front cover has an elongated portion that extends beyond a main surface area of the front cover, and wherein the elongated portion is part of a protrusion that defines a hand gun barrel.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the rear cover has an elongated tab that is shorter in length and width than a main surface area of the rear cover, and wherein the elongated tab extends beyond a length of the elongated portion of the front cover.
 10. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the cavity is shaped as a hand gun barrel and hand gun trigger housing.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the front cover material comprises a plurality of holes at respective locations of the plurality of engaging snap portions.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an engaging snap portion holder that lies beneath a plurality of engaging snap portions and which rests on the surface of the front cover when the engaging snap portions are engaged with the receiving snap portions.
 13. An apparatus comprising: a front cover comprising a molded surface area that provides a cavity shaped as a hand gun barrel and a hand gun trigger housing; and a rear cover comprising a plurality of receiving snap portions affixed to the front cover which together provide a housing for a hand gun, and wherein each of the receiving snap portions comprises a screw and a receiving nut that is adjustable to increase or decrease a retention and a corresponding distance between the front cover and the rear cover.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the front cover is a different material than the rear cover.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the front cover material is a plastic and the rear cover material is an animal hide leather.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the plastic is form-fitted and rigid.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the rear cover has an elongated tab that is shorter in length and width than a main surface area of the rear cover, and wherein the elongated tab extends beyond a length of a main surface area portion of the front cover.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the front cover material comprises a plurality of holes at respective locations of the plurality of engaging snap portions.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising: a plurality of spacers disposed between the plurality of screws and the plurality of receiving nuts to provide a predetermined distance.
 20. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising: an engaging snap portion holder that lies beneath the plurality of engaging snap portions and which rests on the surface of the front cover when the engaging snap portions are engaged with respective receiving snap portions. 